Halloween 2022 xxx

Well that certainly sprouted a load of unanticipated questions!

Let me set the scene for you.

Monday 31st October was a glorious bonus inset day at the end of a wonderful half term spent doing delicious things with framily (friends who have become family).

The Twinkles had chosen to spend it in their pyjamas playing video games and watching YouTube under the blankets and dogs on our seven seater sofa.

I had Mum guilt for a while on treat days spent like this but when I look back my Mum had very high standards. She was always busy ironing, cooking, cleaning, but mainly ironing. I swear the carpet was slightly worn on the patch she used to stand on in the corner of our lounge ironing. I didn’t appreciate it when I was young, how could I? But I wish I could thank her now for all the hard work she put in that I only realise now as a Mum myself. Anyway, I wrestled with this for a while, but came to the conclusion that I will mainly buy clothes that don’t need ironing, the house will be trophy clean once the boys have left home and I will spend my free time really with them. The boys will be clean, hygienic, polite, happy, but possibly a bit crumpled.

Anyway, I love how close we feel snuggled on the sofa playing our separate games, but the boys always want to share what is happening in theirs or look up and say good job when I’ve passed levels we’ve struggled on.

I was aware Harry was watching something on YouTube called Haunted House, I watched for a while and it just seemed like teenagers playing pranks on each other and was actually making him laugh in places.

Ollie was watching his current favourite YouTuber Germy pretend to beat a doll with an axe because its head had turned by itself in a very non scary manner.

Alexa shouted out that it was 4pm and that was our cue to get dressed for Trick or Treating with the boys bestie, Josh.

Ollie wanted to be a friendly skeleton with a broom and Harry just wanted to look cool, but a bit dead.

We live in a cul de sac filled with bungalows, it’s almost the set of Cocoon. Mary from over the road who is about 103 actually came over to say she had been living in her place for over 15 years and never had a Trick or Treater ( not trickle treater as I first thought) and what did she need to do? We suggested a pumpkin in the porch, well she went to town with a gigantic spider, cobwebs, the works.

A lady down the road even lit her caravan with a red light and filled it with zombies. When the boys rang on her bell she jumped out and shouted boo, I nearly wet myself. She was so lovely and then Harry asked her why she was wearing her pyjamas, awkward.

That reminds me, we have a few thank you notes to send out.

The boys munched on their loot, Harry questioned the bag of Wotsits he’d been given. Ollie questioned why he couldn’t eat it all before bed.

Bedtime came and so did a very tearful Harry and all the questions.

• Are Spirits real?

• Can they take over your body?

• Can they get in to your body through your toes whilst you are sleeping?

• Are Vampires real?

Ollie chipped in with

• Do Vampires drink ketchup or blood?

It turns out things had been said in the videos Harry had watched.

Lee and I tackled it as best we could.

I reminded Harry that Nanny Jenny is a spirit who looks over us and visits us from heaven. I explained Spirits can’t touch you or control you and that Vampires aren’t real but if they were they can’t come in unless invited (thanks for the tip Lost Boys).

This resulted in more tears and Harry telling me that he was going to write a letter to Santa to request that Spirits could touch so I could give Nanny Jenny a hug when I die.

Seriously! Let’s go back to questions about zombies!!!

Needless to say I ended up being made to go to bed in their room at 8pm! Luckily my close friend Dancing Lou is a Scentsy consultant and she’d recommended we try “Jammy Time” wax melt in the boys room and it is a delicious concoction of soothing baby freesia, lavender and sweet pea which literally “helps kids drift into dreamland” and it doesn’t smell like horrible lavender which is a Brucie bonus!

Anywho, the alarm has gone. time to get out the bath and start the day xxxx